Back to work Mon 18th. I’ve tried to ease into it, but that’s not really the way things work there, so I’m probably adding to the backlog. Customers seem pleased I’m back though, which is gratifying.

My admin person has been away for the last 2 days with (ironically) a bad back.

I’d given up the Panadol & Ibuprofen Saturday, but needed to hook back into it Monday after work, & Tuesday & Wednesday lunch time. None today though.

Had an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon Wed afternoon. He seems pleased with progress, & has said I should start to wean myself out of the back brace. That’s even earlier than was anticipated. But he did give me another 3 months supply of Ibuprofen. His student was cute too…

Mandy seemed surprised that I didn’t ask when I could get back on the bike – but I’ll know when that’s feasible. She also sought his support on the hypothesis that folding washing was good physiotherapy – NOT…

Been a while since last posting as I have been waiting for my back to come good. At this stage I am still not able to ride, but have started on some areas of maintenance / repair, where limited bending is needed.

Valeo repair:
On the last MAD ride I did with Bart, the starter motor field housing lost its magnets. At the time I replaced the starter motor with the heavier Bosch unit from the RS. But the Valeo is lighter & more efficient, spins the motor faster, & doesn't draw as many Amps, so I have been keen to get that repaired. Part of the advantage of the Valeo is in the planentary gearing it uses, which is not available in the Bosch.

I took the motor field housing off the starter (three bolts through the gear housing) & disconnected the heavy wiring from the solenoid.

At least one of the magnets was clearly broken away from the motor field housing.

At the end of the housing, I removed the 2 nuts to allow removal of the cover over the brush plate.

Pry up the springs to allow the brushes to be removed.

The starter motor armature coil in held in the brush plate by an e-clip behind a bush cover. The bush housing is just a press fit over the armature end. I removed by prying this up.

The armature & magnets just fell out then. Surprise, surprise, all of the magnets have lost their epoxy bond to the outside of the housing, so it wasn’t just the one that let go. This is fortunate in a way in that the armature doesn’t appear damaged.

The armature has a couple of divots in them. This is stock, not damage like I first thought.

There is a little damage on the armature side of the brush holder. I don't think this is a deal breaker.

I am waiting for the new housing & magnets from Euro MotoElectrics, for USD35. The housing + armature + brushes + holder is USD $115, & a new valeo starter motor is USD198 (on sale). Then there is shipping costs (about USD30 for the housing).

Other:
I'll update this post as a couple of other items I am working on progress.

I bought a Valeo off them a couple of years back, they also did a 'cheap' one for $99 US from memory. Turned out they could post two for same price so bought a good one and a cheep one.
The genuine one I think is made in Poland, the other elsewhere....oddly the knock off one seems better made, its in the race bike.
They use the same Valeo planetary one in my VW van, I had a go at fixing it once but gave up.... new one was $600.
I do like things you can take to bits and repair, although life would be less complicated if I didn't.